AT HOME AND ABROAD

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 219, 15 September 1924, Page 12

AT HOME AND ABROAD

TO SAVE LABOUR. When baking fish, line the baking tin or dish with a piece of strong, white paper, greased with a little oil or butter. Lay in fish with any accessories on the top of this, and you will find that it is easily removed when cooked. Also, when the paper is slipped out the tin or dish is left comparatively clean and can be easily washed without the usual scraping. A HINT FOR THE NURSERY. The newly-made mother is often apt to overlook - the fact that baby gets thirsty, also, apart from the satisfying of thirst, it is absolutely necessary'i for baby to have water to drink during the . day. The water should have first been boiled and then allowed to get cold. A dessertspoonful at a time is usually sufficient, and this should be repeated two or throe times daily between, feeds. If baby has a tendency to be irregular in his" habits, some plain boiled water given in a feeding Dottle at least half an hour before his first meal will often bring about the desired correction. TO ECONOMISE GAS. ' Use a gas radiator, which enables you to cook three saucepans on one burner. This can be had in a triangular form made of heavy steel which does not warp, and constructed in such a way as to conserve all the heat. When using the gas griller, always place a kettle or saucepan of water on the top; this utilises the top heat as well as that underneath. Use saucepans of a strong, light make, and broad and flat in shape. Be careful to keep them clean —outeide as well as inside; sooty saucepans heat badly and require longer to boil. When using the oven, try to arrf ige your cooking so as to fill all the shelves. It is a waste of gas' to cook one dish only. Do not boil a gallon of water if a pint will serve your purpose. Do not turn a light so r igh that it blazes round the sides of a 1 -ttle or saucepan. Do not light a burner sooner than is necessary, and always turn it off directly you have finished with it. Turn the gas off from the main pipe when you have finished using the stove, and always at night. BLANKETS AND EIDERDOWNS. ' c The washing of blankets and eiderdowns is one of the household tasks which is not looked forward to wrih much pleasure, but if sent away to be cleaned professionally the cost is considerable, and furthermore they may lack the benefit derived from fresh air drying. Blankets are easy to cleanse, but the difficulty lies in the fact that when wet they are heavy to lift; as, however, they do not usually require, washing more often than once a year, , the task is not a very formidable one. Do not decide to launder your blankets' on a certain day irrespective of the weather, but choose a warm, breezy day, when they will dry quickly. Blankets may be made of pure wool a mixture of wool and cotton or wholly of cotton, and in washing them care | should be, taken that their aiyurance j iis changed as little as possible. Pure J wool blankets are liable to shrink « j wasiied carelessly. Avoid the use of very hot water, strong soaps or soap powders, and do not rub them if you would have your blankets , -soft and "fluffy.. Whenever possible, utilise some mecha- _ nical aid, such as a long-handled suction washer and dolly tub or a washing machine, both of which obviate the need for hand washing. If, however, no such, help is available, prepare a large bath, containing plenty of warm, soapy water, thVtemperature of which should be blood heat or slightly warmer. The right temperature can be judged fairly accurately by the hand; the water should j feel neither liot nor cold, "but just com r | fortable. Iβ some parts of the Old Country it' is not uncommon to wash, blankets and other large articles of this kind in a wooden tub by pressing out the dirt with the feet. Shake each blanket to remove all surface dust and loose fibres, and then wash by kneading and squeezing in the soapy water. In districts where the water is hard two taiblespoonfuls of ammonia or borax added to a large bath of water softens it, and less soaip is required to produce a lather. If the blankets are very soiled, two washing waters will be necessary; when all the dirt has 'been squeezed out, rinse well in several warm rinsing ■waters. ." Fold the blankets in four lengthways, and pass through the wrinsrer twice, to remove-as much of the moisture as possible. Before hanging out to dry, shake well to raise the fibres; it is also advisable to repeat the shaking once or twice during the drying process. New blankets often present a special difficulty the dressing contained in them destroys the lather of the washing water. . I ' It is advisabe to soak new blankets for half hour in tenid water -eontaintns some' ammonia before -commencing to wash theni. The Best Ways With Eiderdown. Some covers, such as those made of satin, do not wash well, and when very soiled are better dry-cleaned, but eiderdown quilts covered in cotton or washing silk can safely be washed at home. They I" are washed and rinsed in exactly tlie ■ same way as blankets, care being taken that all soap used is in solution. Tass the quilt through, a wringer with a fairly loose tension to remove all surplus moisture, and peg carefully on a single line. Owing to the weight very large ones are better dried by hanging between two lines. * Take' down the eiderdown frequently whilst "drying and shake to spread the down. Before it is quite dry smooth the-covjer with a warm iron. Finally lay thq'quilt flat and beat gently with a stick to even out and readjust the feathers or;dpwn. Stale bread will remove orcHnary marks from a distempered wall. If they are greasy, coat with a paste of fuller's earth and water.. Brush off when dry.